Thursday, October 22, 2026

The Doctors Keep Changing Their Story ...

... and it keeps getting worse.

This morning, I had an 8am appointment with an opthalmologist to determine what needs to be done about a small hole in my left retina.

Four hours later, after multiple rounds of various types of imaging, the answer turned out to be: Nothing. The hole is small enough to not be in any danger of tearing.

BUT!

All that imaging revealed that what eye examiners have been telling me is a "freckle" in my left eye for probably ten years or so is actually a lot bigger than can be seen in a regular eye exam. Big enough that it bears watching at three-month intervals to see if it grows/changes.

Who will be watching it? A specialist in retinal oncology, which is the kind of doctor I really, really, really would rather never have to see.

She seems well-qualified -- MD from the Iran University of Medical Science, opthalmology residency and vitreo-retina surgery fellowship at Tehran University of Medical Science Farabi Eye Hospital, uveitis and ocular immunology fellowship at Massachusetts Eye Research and Surgery Institute, clinical research fellowship at Harvard Medical School -- but the current political environment has me a little scared that politics will interfere with her continued practice here. Remember kids, immigration authoritarianism kills Americans.

NFL Week 7 Picks

But wait, you say, what about Week 6 results? I completely forgot to do that post just now and after four hours of medical stuff today I only feel like doing one post. You can see my very, very, very bad Week 6  (only five right, nine wrong) here if you're interested. Week 7 picks:

  • Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots
  • Pittsburgh Steelers beat New Orleans Saints
  • San Francisco 49ers beat Atlanta Falcons
  • Cleveland Browns beat Tennessee Titans
  • Minnesota Vikings beat Indianapolis Colts
  • New York Jets beat Miami Dolphins
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Carolina Panthers*
  • Baltimore Ravens beat Cincinnati Bengals*
  • Houston Texans beat New York Giants
  • Denver Broncos beat Arizona Cardinals
  • Detroit Lions beat  Green Bay Packers
  • Las Vegas Raiders beat Los Angeles Rams*
  • Kansas City Chiefs beat Seattle Seahawks
  • Dallas Cowboys beat Philadelphia Eagles
Upset picks are marked with an asterisk. If I change any of my picks, the changes will be made before kickoff and specifically noted in an update to this post. The picks are also recorded at ESPN's Pick'em game.

Wordle 1951 Hint

Hint: Most of do this routinely with our electronic devices; Klaus Schwab wants a more general "great" one.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.






First Letter: R